Printing chase



c. CHISHO PRINTING CHASE Filed- Oct.

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Patented Aug. 30, 1927 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLIFTON CHISHOLIJI, Z5 CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR THE AMERICAN MULTI-GRAPH 00., 0F CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

PRINTING CHASE.

The object of this invention is to provide a simple and eliect-ivedevice for holding a flexible printing blanket in a flat condition andtype high, so that it may be used as a unit in a printing press. Myflexible blanket comprises a sheet of metal provided with raisedprojections on which I mount embossed printing strips, the edges ofwhich are flanged inwardly to project beneatlrthe edges of theprojections. Such a flexible blanket is adapted, for instance, formounting on a curved drum in an assembly machine, as illustrated in myprior Patent No. 1,557,755 issued October 20, 1925, and thereaftertransferred to a suitable rotary machine by which it may be used toprint. The present invention provides means forholding this blanket.vith its embossed strips in a flat form.

As illustrated in the drawings, Fig 1 is a plan of my chase, comprisinga flat support, a blanket and means for stretching it'and holding it onthe support; Fig. 2 is an edge elevation thereof; Fig. 3 is a horizontalsection through a portion of the supporting and stretching mechanism, asindicated by the line 33 in Fig. 2. Figset, 5 and 6 are fragmentaryvertical sections as indicated by the correspondingly numbered lines in1; Fig. '7 is a perspective of a portion of the loaded chase, involvingthe support, the blanket and overlying embossed strips.

In the drawings. 10 indicates a sheet metal blanket whichis providedwith rows of undercut projections 11, on which are mounted embossedstrips 20. As shown, the projections 11 comprise a series of buttons ordiscs stamped up from the metal sheet and connected with it in thedirection of the row but disconnected on opposite sides thereof, whilebetween the projections are stamped corrugations 12, which rise to theheight or the tops of th projections. Such construction makes acontinuous support for the embossed strip and at the same time providesoverhanging edges beneath which the inwardly curved edges 21 of thestrips may extend. The extreme end portions of each corrugation are bentdownwardly toward the base plane of the blanket (as shown in Figs. 5 and6). to allow for more ready installation of the embossed strips.

I have found that the flexible blanket may be very readily mounted forprinting on a railed drumeby bending inwardly the extreme edges of theblanket, such extreme edge portion being doubled on itself to provide aninwardly projecting rib adapted to hook over and extend beneath the headof a rail, as shown in my patent referred to. Such hooked-over anddoubled ends are illustrated herein at 13.

In my present invention, I provide a flat supporting plate which is ofsuch height that when the blanket with embossed strips thereon isheldflat on the plat the distance from the base of the plate to the top, allthe characters on the strip will be exactly the standard height fortype. for anchoring one end of the blanket means for pulling on theother end to stretch it and means for engaging and holding down the twoside edges. The means shown for accomplishing these results will now bedescribed. 7

At ont end ofthe plate 30 I provide a bar 31 adapted to be drawn towardthe plate by screws 32, screwing through the bar into the plate' Theplate has a slightly overhanging edge 34 adjacent the bar and the rib 18on the. end of the plate is adapted to hook around and beneath this edgebetween .it and the bar; then the tightening of the screws 32efiectively locks the blanket at that end to the plate 30, as shown in1* 1g. 2.

In amanner similar to that described, I lock the other end of theblanket 1O to a clamp which is movable relative to the plate 30, Forthis purpose I provide a bar 40 having projecting inwardly from it andrigidly carrying pins ll slidable in correspondingly shaped openings 35in the plate. The bar may be held againstpermanent separation from theplate by set screws letscrewed a into the plate and projecting intorecesses in the pins, if desired. The bar 40 is provided with anoverhanging ledge 47 similar to the ledge 34L on the plate '30.Accordingly, the rib 13 o that end of the blanket may hook over thisledge.

Cooperating with the movable bar 40 is a clamping bar 50 which. isadjustably secured to it by screws 51 passing through the clamping bar50 into'themovable bar to. By this means the end of the blanket is.effectively clamped between the bars 40 and 50. Screws 55 passingloosely through the bar 50. are threaded in the bar 40 andbear againstthe end of the plate'30. By turning I provide means of the corrugaUnfortunately when sheet metal blankets are formed as described with thecorrugations and the overhanging lips, the whole blanket has a tendencyto take a very shallow trough form extending lengthwise thereof; that isto say, the parts on each side of the longitudinal center slightly curveupwardly when the blai net is lying on a flat support. This distortionis automatically overcome when the blanket is bent around a segment ordrum as when used on the mul- I aph. l have found however, that whenattempted to draw the blanket flat for use in a flat form as in thisinvention, even though it be subjected to the maximum allowablestretching pull. the edge portions will still not lie strictly fiat.i-iccordingly, l have provided means on each side of the support forengaging the edge portions of the blanket for iolding it down on theflat support.

Each edge eng'a ing member above referred to comprises a bar 60 havingat its upper edge an inwardly ext-ending lip 61 which is adapted tooverhang the edge por tion of theblanket. This bar has vertical slots64, and clamping screws 65 pass through these slots and are threadedinto the support 30.

As already mentioned the end portions of the corn lions beyond theendmost buttons are bent downwardly on the blanket as shown at 15 inFig" 5 and 6 to enable the ready installation of the embossed. strips onthe blanket. T provide the lips (31. on the locking bars 60 of such formthat their under surface is complementarily and thus they may'readilyengage these inclined portions ions and obtai an effective hold. on theblanket, while the top surfaces of the bars are below the printingplane.

In making up my flat form the loaded blanket is first anchored at oneend by the clamping bar 31 and then loc red at the other to the movableclamp 1-0, then it is stretched by turning in the screws 55 to bring itnearly as practical into plane, then the edge bars 60 are manuallypressed downwardly to hold the edge portion of the blanket firmly on thebase 30 and the screws (35ers tightened to lock these edge bars.

It will be seen that the construction is simple and the same time iseffective to readily clamp the ends of the blanket, draw it taught, andhold it in flat form. Thereafter the whole device may be used as a unitin a printing press and locked in place for printing in the usualmanner. Accordingly, by supplying a user with this clamping chase he isenabled to use the same blanket interchangeably in a fiat press or a,eeaser rotary machine, as a multigraph, for instance.

It should be noted that the flexible blanket described with theoverlying embossed strips is-covered broadly in my prior Patent No.1,438,580; that the raised buttons are coyered in the patent of W. J.Demming No.

1,d38,58 l and the corrugations between the buttonsiin the patent of B.J. Craig No. 1,438,582, all issued December 13, 1922 to my assignee TheAmerican hllultigraph Company.

I claim I 1. The combination of a flexible printing blanket, a flatsupport and means adapted to stretch the blanket on the support and holdit at its opposite ends, and means engaging the side edges of theblanket, all of said means conjointlv holding the blanket on the supportwith the printing characters in a plane, and type high.

2. The combination of a flexible plate, em bossed strips mountedthereon, and a flat support provided with means engaging the ends andopposite side edges of the plate to hold the plate with the characterson the strips in a plane and type high.

3. The combination with a flexible plate provided with means for holdingprinting strips, a flat support therefor having at one end means foranchoring one end of the tleX- ible plate and at the other end means forstretching said sheet. and at the sides means for holding down the sidemarginsof the flexible plate.

4-. The combination of a flat plate, means for anchoring one end of .ablanket thereto, a pair of bars at the other end, means, for

clamping the other end of the blanket bea tween them, means for movingsaid pair of bars away from the end of the plate, and means engaging theside margins of the blanket and. serving to hold them down on the plate.7

5. The combination of a plate adapted to support a flexible blanket,means for stretching the blanket lengthwise on the plate, and side barsadiustably secured to the plate and having inwardly projecting edgeflanges to overhang the margins of the blanket and clamp it to theplate.

6. The combination with a flexible blanket and printing members thereon,of a flat supporting plate, a bar at one end thereof, means for forcingsaid bar toward the plate to clamp the end of the blanket, a pair ofbars'at the other end of the plate, means for clamping the other end ofthe blanket between said pair of bars, means for moving said pair ofbars away from the end of the plate, and bars adapted to be clamped tothe sides of the plate and having lips over hanging the blanket andplate for boldirlig the margins of the blanket tight on the p ate v i v7. The combination of a plate having a flat top surface, a flexibleprinting blanket, inc-ans for stretching the blanket over the plate,bars extending along opposite sides of the plate and having transverseslots, screws passing through said slots into the plate and serving toclamp the bars, and the inwardly extending flanges on the bars adaptedto overhang the margins of the blanket.

8. The combination with a flat plate, of a flexi le blanket havingraised corrugations with laterally projecting lips along their tops,embossed printing strips resting on said corrugations and having flangededges underhanging the lips, the extreme ends of the corrugations beinginclined downwardly toward the general plane of the blanket, barsadjustably secured to the sides of the support and having lips withinclined under surfaces, said lips overhanging the inclined end portionsof the corrugations of the blanket, and means for stretching the blanketalong the support.

9. The combination with a flexible plate provided with raisedprojections, embossing printing strips mounted on and retained by saidprojections, a flat support therefor having it one end means forclamping one end of the flexible plate and at the other end a pair ofclamping bars slidably guided by the support beyond the end thereof, andmeans for forcing such bars away from said end to stretch said sheet,said fiat support flexible plate and embossed strips serving to presentthe character faces type high above the base plane of the support, andthe clamping device being located entirely between said base plane andthe printing plane, whereby the whole device may be used as a chase in aprinting press.

10, The combination with a flexible print ing blanket, of a flat plateadapted to support said blanket, said plate being sufiiciently less thantype high so that the face of the strips will stand type high from thebase plane or" the plate, a pair of clamping bars less than type highadapted to engage and hold the end of the blanket, and means less thantype high between the clamping bars and the end of the plate andslidably guiding said clamping bars to enable them to move as a unittoward and from the end of the plate, and means less than type high forforcing the clamping bars away from the end of the plate, whereby aprinting form is provided adapted to be mounted as a unit in a printingpress.

11. The combination of a flat plate, a pair of clamping bars at one endthereof, pins carried by one of said bars and extending into the endportion of the plate and slidable therein, means for locking the barstogether and thereby clamping the end of the blanket, and means forforcing the two bars as a unit away from the end of the plate.

12. The combination of a plate adapted to support a flexible form, a barat the end of the plate, pins carried by the bar and slidablehorizontally inthe plate, another bar on the outer side of the bar firstmentioned, clamping screws for clamping the two bars together, andscrews passing through the bars mentioned and threaded in one end ofthem and bearing at their free ends against the end of the plate,whereby the bars may be drawn away from the end of the plate.

13. The combination of a flat plate, a

lexible blanket adapted to be supported thereby, means at one end of theplate for clamping rigidly thereto one end of said flexible blanket, apair of bars side by side the other end the plate, pins carried by theinner of said bar and slidably mounted in said plate, screws passingthrough the outer of said bars and threaded in the inner bar forclamping the end of carrying said pair and slidably engaging the plate,means for forcing said pair of bars as a un t away from the end of theplate, and bars engaging the opposite side of the plate respectively andeach having a longitudinal flange overhanging the top of the plate,saidside bars having transverse slots and screws passing through saidslots and threaded into the plate for adjustably clamping the barsthereto.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aflix my signature.

CLIFTON CHISHOLM.

